How to Easily Make Extra Money On the Side

I’ve had money on the brain lately. Maybe it’s because we’re having a baby in a little over a month and the thought of all the extra expenses is making me think twice when I buy things. Rob and I are both relatively frugal and don’t spend our money frivolously, though we each have our weaknesses, and while I’m not worried about our little one, a little extra never hurt, right?

I imagine I’m not the only first-time mom to think about this either. Especially if you’re wrestling with the idea of going back to your job after you give birth or not. It’s so hard to strike the right balance, but if you’re looking for some ideas on how to make extra money on the side (whether you’re a new mom or not), I’ve listed 25 ways to easily add a little more cash to your bank account.

They won’t all sound appealing to you, but I bet there’s one in there that sounds like something you can totally do and probably several things you’ve never even thought about! Oh, and if you really don’t want to work too hard, the last two are stupidly easy, so don’t miss those.

Let’s get to it…

How to Make Extra Money

1. Start a Blog

Your first thought might be, I don’t have time to manage a blog, but depending on your niche, there’s good money to be made without having to post every single day or take tons of photos. Fashion, food and lifestyle blogging can be seriously time-consuming, but I’ve seen so many incredibly successful blogs that don’t actually take any of their own photos (just make sure you credit the right person) or use iPhone photos! Instead they offer advice on motherhood, budgeting, personal finance, health coaching, etc. and can be wildly popular! You can get so creative!

Blogging isn’t a big financial commitment either, hosting at companies like Bluehost starts at only $3.95 a month, which is ideal if you’re just getting started and don’t want to invest too much. Setting up a blog is easy too and only takes a few minutes—this tutorial will walk you through it step by step!

If you’re worried about the cost of getting a beautiful customized-looking design, don’t be! When it comes to designs, or themes in the WordPress world, I highly recommend Studiopress and our Blogging 4 Keeps themes. Studiopress is built off the Genesis framework and their themes are gorgeous and easy to customize. In fact, my theme is the Cook’d Pro theme! Sidenote, I have had a developer make customizations to my site that don’t come with the theme. Another affordable place to find designs and plugins is Themeforest.

Once you get your site set-up, you can make money from affiliate links, sponsored content and advertisements. It won’t make you a millionaire overnight, but it’s a fun way to share a passion and make money at the same time. Plus, you never know what it might turn into! I’ve seen several bloggers start off with no intention of making money who now make six-figure salaries—some even make six-figures a month!

2. Drive Uber

Unless you live in the city, you most likely already have a car. Why not make use of it and drive for Uber or Lyft? Applying is easy and you can earn as much or as little as you want. Best of all, you’re totally on your own schedule!

3. Become a Tasker

Have you heard of TaskRabbit? It’s one of my favorite apps to use for random tasks I need completed. I’ve used it to have multiple lights installed and get help with organizing our living room. Even if you don’t have handy skills, there’s something you can do on Task Rabbit!

4. Join an MLM

I did this earlier this year when I joined Beautycounter and have absolutely loved it. Make sure to pick an MLM that sells a product that you really love and believe in (it makes it much easier to sell!). If you’re ever interested in joining Beautycounter and want to join my team, email me here!

5. Offer a Service

Maybe you know how to set up simple websites on WordPress and can offer that to local businesses. Maybe you’re pretty good with your camera—offer family photography sessions in your spare time. The holidays are the perfect time to do this because everyone is looking for a good photo for their family holiday card!

6. Find a Part Time Job

This one is more traditional, but it works! Restaurants, retail stores, bars, workout studios (if you’re certified) and nannies are all great options.

7. Teach a Course

Are you an expert on something? Teach other people how to do it! Jess and I do this over at BFK in our Hobby to Hustle course. We use the Teachable platform for our courses which takes care of all the techy behind-the-scenes stuff. All you have to do is create and upload lessons. Once it’s done, you can sell it for as long as you want. (teachable affiliate)

8. Virtual Assistant

I hear about virtual assistants more and more these days and frankly, it sounds pretty awesome! It doesn’t require you to live in the same place as your employer and typically will give you very flexible hours.

9. Manage Social Media Accounts

If you’re a good writer and competent with social media, you can offer your services to local businesses or bloggers who need the help to maintain and active online presence.

10. Freelance Write

I’m not a good enough writer to do this, but if you are, this one is a great option. You can do the writing on your own time, find your own clients and really customize your side hustle to anything you want. Articles for magazines, online publications, newspapers and even writing blog posts for different sites!

11. Start an Etsy Store

If you have a unique product, why not open an Etsy shop? It’s really affordable, they make things super easy and all you have to do is set up shop, upload products and start selling. You’ll get a much larger audience on here than you would if you started your own independent shop too.

12. Invest

This one might sound a little scary, especially if you don’t have a background in finance (my hand is raised), but investing is such a smarter long term choice than simply stuffing money into your savings account. You won’t see returns quickly, but it’s a great long term strategy for growing your wealth.

13. Sell Your Old Stuff

I love purging the house and usually end up with two stacks. One to donate and one to sell. For clothing and accessories, I love Poshmark or eBay. For furniture or house goods, I love the LetGo app or CraigsList. The other perk? Your house will be so much cleaner and you’ll feel better when it’s all gone!

14. Rent a Parking Space

Parking is hard to come by in Chicago! If you have an extra spot or a spot you’re not using, rent it out! The average parking spot here goes for $150-300/month depending on whether it’s covered or not and what neighborhood.

15. Rent your Home on AirBNB

Put your house, back house or extra room for rent on AirBNB. I have several friends who have made renting their extra studio apartment on AirBNB a legitimate side gig!

16. Get a Credit Card that Rewards You

Technically you have to spend money to get those rewards, but you’re going to spend money anyway—that’s life. It’s better to be getting something back than nothing! There are so many great cards out there with perks from travel points, airline miles to cash back. NerdWallet.com is a good place to start if you’re not sure which card is best for you.

17. Enter Contests & Giveaways

I don’t consider myself to be a very lucky person, but I love entering contests and giveaways—you never know, right? I did win a dinner for two to a fancy restaurant when I was in high school—it was awesome! The night was so much fun and extra special knowing it was all free!

18. Affiliate Marketing

I mentioned this briefly in the very first one, start a blog, but affiliate marketing can be done whether or not you have a blog. If you have a large social following or run a page on Facebook, this can be the perfect spot to promote products you already love and use and get paid a commission for doing so. A few easy ones to get started on are Amazon Affiliates, ShareaSale, Commission Junction and ShopStyle.

19. SEO Consultant

So many people have told me they have backgrounds in SEO or worked for a company where that was a big part of their job. Do you know how many bloggers would love help with their SEO?! Offer your services as a consultant or even help them on a regular basis—seriously, I know lots of people who would love this kind of help!

20. Social Media Posts

If you have a large social media following, you can get paid to post about certain products. Bloggers & Instagram influencers do this all the time and you’ll see it marked with something like #ad or #sponsored per FTC disclosure rules.

21. Dogwalk

Are you a dog lover? This one is a no-brainer. There are so many dog-walking companies in Chicago that you can work for, or start your own business! We pay $14 for a 25 minute walk, so you can see how that adds up quickly!

22. Dogsit

Somewhat similar to the above, but instead of just walking them, you’re taking care of them for multiple days. We always prefer for Oliver to go to someone’s house vs. a kennel and finding a good, reliable dogsitter can be tough! Join a company like Rover to get set up with people who need this service.

23. Babysit

More of a baby or kids person? Offer your services in your neighborhood or get on a site like Care.com who pairs you with a family and takes care of all the heavy-lifting.

24. Honey App

Technically this one doesn’t make you money. Although, it does save you money! It’s a Google Chrome extension and whenever you’re shopping, it’ll pop up and tell you if there’s any coupon codes to try. Once you hit the button, it automatically tries all the available coupons for you. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t, but I’ve had really good luck and saved hundreds since using it! I highly recommend signing up for this one!

25. Ebates

Last, but not least. This is one of the easiest ways to make money and is a total no-brainer because you don’t have to have any special skills! Maybe you’ve seen the commercials on TV too? I was curious so I did some research and essentially, you get paid to shop at hundreds of places you’d already buy stuff from. There are over 1700 stores on their list and you can be earning money anytime you shop—easy, right?! A few shops on their list: Target, Old Navy, Gap, Kohl’s, or Walmart. Click here to sign up and start getting paid for any shopping you do!

Phew, that list was long, but what’d you think? Did you find something (or a few things) that you can start doing today to make a little extra cash?! What other ideas do you have for making extra money on the side?

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Welcome to The Fox & She! A blog designed to enourage and empower women to not only dream of a life they want, but to take action and go get it! I’m Blair and I believe that all women deserve to feel confident and comfortable in their own skin, and deserve a life filled with peace, happiness, fun, good health, loving relationships, and work they love.READ MORE >

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